Death Note The Musical is Coming to New York City Comic-Con

In Japan, countless anime franchises have had the opportunity to hit the stage. Anime franchises such as My Hero Academia, Naruto, Jujutsu Kaisen, and countless others have created live performances for theatrical runs in the East. Recently, one big musical performance, Death Note The Musical, made the leap from Japan to England, and the musical take on Light Yagami’s story is making its way to New York Comic-Con next month.

Death Note first premiered as a manga in 2003, following the story of a young high-schooler who came across a magical notebook that allows him to kill scores of people by simply knowing their names and faces. Joined by the Shinigami known as Ryuk, Light attempts to create a new world wherein he attempts to eliminate all the world’s criminals via a new moniker, Kira. Thanks to the popularity of the manga, not only did Death Note receive an anime adaptation, but it also received live-action films in Japan and North America. The franchise receiving a musical is a testament to the story’s popularity. 

Death Note The Musical in The Big Apple

Death Note’s Musical won’t be performed at New York Comic-Con but several creators responsible for the live-action performance will be in attendance for a special panel. Following the musical’s run in London’s West End, it will be interesting to see if the musical makes its way to North America in the future. 

Here’s how Playbill describes the upcoming panel at New York Comic-Con arriving next month, “Broadway favorite Adam Pascal will be on hand for a panel covering Frank Wildhorn’s Death Note: The Musical. Based on the best-selling Japanese manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata/Sheuisha, the work has received acclaimed productions in Japan and Korea, along with two sold-out concert engagements in London, the first starring Pascal. The panel will offer a sneak peek into the developing production, which features music by Wildhorn, lyrics by Jack Murphy, a book by Ivan Menchell, and orchestrations and arrangements by Jason Howland. The panel will be held October 14 at 10:30 AM, with additional panelists to be announced.”

If you wanted to learn more about Death Note’s live-action musical, here’s the official description of the performance, “Based on the best-selling Japanese manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, this groundbreaking musical (Winner Best Musical, Korea Musical Awards) has a score by Frank Wildhorn (‘Jekyll & Hyde’, 4 years on Broadway, ‘Dracula’, ‘Bonnie & Clyde’) with lyrics by Jack Murphy and book by Ivan Menchell. Light Yagami, a bright but dissatisfied high school student in Tokyo comes across a discarded notebook owned by Ryuk, a mythological god of death. Discovering he can kill anyone by just writing their names in the supernatural notebook, Light takes justice into his own hands by filling the notebook with names of the nation’s most wanted criminals. But a detective only known as ‘L’ is soon tracking him down…”